History Hiding Around Broadway

Go behind the scenes of the Great White Way with this illustrated guide to the Theater District’s hidden history--an essential book for your explorations of the district from a seasoned Broadway guide.

Broadway is one of New York’s greatest treasures, and where there is treasure, there is a backstory. When it comes to Broadway, that backstory is fittingly juicy, dramatic, and unexpected. And no one knows these hidden histories like Teale Dvornik, who has been leading Broadway fans on tours of the theater district since 2017. With her immense knowledge and passion for the theater, Dvornik now takes readers on her one-of-a-kind tour of Broadway, “stopping” at each of the 41 theaters to tell us fun facts, lesser-known history, ghost tales, and interesting stories about actors, performances, stage flukes, blunders, and more, involving the biggest names and productions in theater history. 

Learn about the Tiffany chandeliers of the Belasco Theater, the trove of hidden jewels at the Gershwin (which houses years of history from the beloved musical Wicked), and the impresarios and players who influenced Broadway. Readers will also learn the fascinating back stories of theater myths, legends, and traditions. Where did the stage ghost light come from? What started the tradition of intermissions? Which theaters have secret connecting hallways? And much, much more!  Along the way, Teale takes detours to explain stage lingo and dives into some of Broadways most popular shows, including CATS, Hello, Dolly!, and Rent.